LIKE MANY, Laura Callahan benefited from low interest rates and low home prices and snapped up a Novato home in November. And now, also like many, she is remodeling her new domicile, giving the local construction industry a shot in the arm.

As the housing market in Marin continues to rally, with home sales jumping 25 percent in 2012, it's igniting an uptick in remodeling. In Novato and San Rafael, building officials report an increase in permits, with permits in unincorporated areas holding steady, and contractors around the county are buzzing about the revival.

"I'm redoing a concrete patio and the deck," said Callahan, who owns two businesses in San Francisco and became enamored of Novato when she visited friends there. The deck and patio adjoin the pool, from which Callahan can see Mount Burdell, trees and other flora. The job will cost around $20,000, she estimated, and Callahan intends to do other work as the year rolls along.

Alterations for residential property have increased substantially in San Rafael, said Thomas Ahrens, the city's chief building official.

From July 1, 2011, to Feb. 1, 2012, the city issued 479 building permits at a value of about $48.4 million, Ahrens said. By comparison, from July 1, 2012, to Feb. 1, 2013, the city had issued 871 permits at a value of $75.8 million.

"There's a general feeling among contractors who are coming in getting permits that money is loosening up," Ahrens said. "There is enthusiasm and a general feeling from the trades people and design professionals that things are picking up."

In Novato, permits are up for residential work including minor mechanical, window replacements, re-roofing, minor construction, home additions and similar jobs, said Ron Averiette, the city's chief building official.

From July 1, 2011, to Feb. 1, 2012, the city issued 1,154 permits, Averiette said. That figure jumped to 1,346 permits from July 1, 2012, to Feb. 1, 2013.

"Most contractors are coming in saying business is looking up, they have prospects in the future they are bidding on, so that makes everybody happy," Averiette said.

In unincorporated areas, the number of permits remained mostly steady, dipping by just 27, according to Bill Kelley, chief building official for the county. From July 1, 2011, to Feb. 1, 2012, 576 building permits with plans associated with them were pulled, while 549, or 27 fewer, such permits were pulled between July 1, 2012, and Feb. 1, 2013, Kelley said.

Tony Anello, owner of Novato-based Anello Painting and Construction, said his 16-employee firm has about 11 projects underway. This time last year, the Novato company had just two jobs.

"Over the last couple years it was a homeowners' market," said Anello, whose 22-year-old company is doing the remodeling on Callahan's Novato home. "We were just crawling through the winter months. We were bidding against five to 10 other firms on a job. Now it's more like three to five firms in terms of competitive bidding."

A Corte Madera contractor echoed Anello's comments.

"In the last five or six months there has been a significant uptick in activity," said Chas Voorhis, owner of the 14-year-old Abacus Builders in Corte Madera. His 15-employee firm has three projects going, the same number as this time last year, but "we have more in the pipeline now," Voorhis said.

Another sign of the resurgence: "I represent a real estate fund, TRA Investments LLC, that buys properties, rehabilitates them and sells them," said Paul Cingolani, a real estate agent with Bradley Real Estate. "A year ago, we received several applications a day from skilled (construction workers) who could not find work.

"Now, they are hard to find. The equation has flipped," Cingolani said. "This happened over the course of a year."

Agents, contractors and officials agreed that while things are looking up, "it's not back to the old days," as Averiette put it. "But it's improving," the building official said.

Anello said, "It's not fully recovered, for sure, but fewer people are fearful about investing in their homes and projects they have put off. More people are doing things without feeling like they have to watch what they spend."